


Lila, the Little Mermaid

by heathos



Category: Hey Arnold!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Dark Fairy Tale Elements, Death, F/M, Romance, Tragedy, Tragic Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-30 14:48:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6428521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heathos/pseuds/heathos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lila starring as the mermaid in the traditional fairy tail version of the Little Mermaid, NOT the Disney Version. Originally posted on FF.net</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Tail to Behold

**Author's Note:**

> I got the idea for this when reading another Hey Arnold! story converted into the Little Mermaid, but I prefer the classic version of fairy tales to the Disney version. So, this is my take on the two, complete with happy or unhappy ending, depending on your view.
> 
> AU, obviously, and they are older teens/young adult in the story with Lila as the mermaid and Arnold as the prince.
> 
> This is the traditional story, and as such is a Tragedy, and not a Love story.
> 
> Pairings: Lila & Arnold, Helga & Arnold
> 
> Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid is public domain
> 
> Wishing I owned Hey Arnold! but I don't and Craig Bartlett/Nickelodeon do

Far out in the ocean- where the water is deep and blue, well below the depths any man dare try to reach, there lay a vast kingdom. This kingdom was much like any you may see up on dry land. But, this kingdom was not like any other kingdom in that it was entirely underwater. The kingdom had grand buildings, built of shells and pearls, and great gardens for all who lived there. As a bird may fly from one tree to another, here a fish would do the same.

Outside of the city, there were farms as far as you could swim in any direction. One of these farms was in an area known as Pleasantville, known as such because all who lived there were gentle and kind and all around pleasant. This farm was occupied by a loving father who worked their kelp farm alone, for his wife had passed, and his doting daughter.

Her name was Lila.

Lila was a lovely girl; her skin was fair and perfect, with dainty freckles under her bright eyes. She had red hair, which she wove into two plaits on either side of her face to keep out of her way when she helped her father. Where her legs should be was instead a long and graceful tail, like a fish, it shimmered a bright emerald color as she swam through the fields.

She would go out with her friends and explore shipwrecks, and occasionally bring home a trinket to decorate the house or garden with. They had pretended, when they were younger, what it would be like to have lived above the water and use the ships. One by one, her friends became old enough to become adults, and on your first day as an adult, you are allowed to go up to the surface. She would listen to her friends speak of the birds, the boats, the beaches. She waited for the day it would be her turn; and until then, she listened. She heard tales of the sunrise. Of children, without tails, swimming in the water. Of cities along the water and the plants that grew. One friend had even swam up the mouth of a river and seen a great forest and mountain, and another sat on an iceberg. She heard tales of fearful storms, the kind that would send more ships to the land below where more children would explore and play.

The day came, finally, when it was Lila's turn. "This will be ever so lovely," she thought to herself. She swam to the surface and made it to the top in time to see a large ship being boarded by more people than she had hoped to see on her trip. She heard a noise and saw a large chain pulling up along the ship and she grabbed on, then pulled herself over to the side until she found an opening where she could watch the people up close. They were having a party, and she could hear the music and smell their food. "I wish I could taste their food and dance with them, just once. It would be ever so nice," she sighed. She turned her back on the party for a minute and stared off into the sunset. It was purple and red and yellow, "Ever so perfect." She turned back when everyone started singing, and saw that they were celebrating for a young man. The ship now had colored lanterns decorating the ship, lighting it up like fish in a reef.

BOOM!

She fell from her ledge in surprise. With her head up again, she could see the surface of the water was lit up red. Then green. Then yellow. She looked up. She did not know what she was looking at, but they appeared to be great anemone in the sky - a bright flash of light, then gone again. She sat there, bobbing up and down with the water, watching the sky and listening to the people enjoying the lights. They were the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. None of her friends had told a story with something like this. She felt a cold breeze, followed by a warm stillness, then she heard it. A great rumbling. There was shouting on the ship and it started turning back to shore.

But they were too late, the storm was nearly on them, and the sea was bucking. The moon was gone and the only light game in bright flashes that crashed down around them. Water was pouring down from the sky and the light was crashing down closer and the clouds were growling. She could feel their anger inside her body, but as she was about to go under and swim away the ship was hit by one of the great flashes of light. There were screams and bright orange light appeared from the deck. She thought she saw something fall, so she got a little closer to the ship to see what it was. Maybe it was something she could put in her garden to remind her of her time above. Something had fallen, but she could not keep it. It was the boy.

"He will surely die if I leave him, for they cannot breathe underwater," she said to herself. "That would just be ever so tragic." But she could not get him back on the ship. The people could not hear her over the storm, and even if they could, she was not supposed to just let them see her. She pulled him up and swam back to shore, but away from the ship and the storm. She got him to shore, but could not tell if this was near where he had come from or not. He was still asleep. She could not get further up shore, and stayed with him the night to make sure he was not pulled back into the water.

She saw the sun rise up above the mountains and trees and fine buildings in the beautiful city, and she could not decide if this was more or less beautiful than the sunset from the night before. Up close, she was able to look at the boy now that the sun was out. "Your hair is the color of the sand," she said, brushing it out of his face, "but the shape of your head is ever so odd." She stayed on the beach, curious about his clothing, and his legs. She removed his shoe and saw that his leg had quite a strange looking hand on it. "I wonder what they use those hands for?" She went back up to his face and held open on of his eyes. "I do hope that he wakes up, it would be ever so sad if I sat here all night and wasted my trip waiting for him." She started to sing to herself while playing with his hair and taking in some sun. The water lapping up over her tail was cold, and the sun on her back was warm. It felt like happiness and she wished she could stay on the beach longer than her day would allow.

She heard him moan and his eyes began to flutter. She let go and allowed the water to pull her back in. She swam behind a rocky area of tide pools and watched him. She heard more people and was glad to have left when she did, "That was ever so close," she said quietly. A group of girls in long plain robes were walking along the beach and singing quietly. One girl stopped and screamed, then ran to the boy. The girls surrounded him and sat him up and he started coughing. She said a silent goodbye, as not many merfolk get to ever be so close to a person like she was, and she swam home.


	2. To Sea the Witch

Lila made it home safe, but upset. "It is ever so unfair, I cannot tell anyone what happened up there, and he will never know that I was the one that saved him," she lamented. Her father saw she was sullen and told her he did not need her for any chores that day, so she went outside and wrapped her tail around the coral fence that surrounded the fields of kelp and sat down. She thought of the boy with his sand colored hair, smiling and thanking the girls on the beach. She had sat there with him all night. She had swum so far to the shore with him. She had saved him from sinking down to the depths where she lived, but a man could not. She went to see her friends, but when they asked her what she had seen on her trip, all she would tell them of was the sunset. "It was ever so beautiful," she would say, and leave it at that.

She started sneaking back up to the shore to look upon the city. She stopped seeing her friends as often and missed entire nights of sleep. But, she was always looking at the shore at night, and there were very few people that ever came down to the beach at night and most of the city was asleep. Some nights she would sit under the pier where the fishermen would come and go from their boats and she would listen to them. From the fishermen she learned that the young man she had saved was the prince, and that he was good and kind and his people loved him. They were so happy to find him, for they thought him to be lost in the storm as he did not make it back with the ship. She wanted to tell them that she had saved him, but they were fishermen and she was afraid.

She began to spend her nights in the tides around the palace. She was spending more time at the surface than at home. She wanted to spend all her time at the surface. She loved smelling most of all. Things at home all smelled the same, if you could say that. Water literally would fill your mouth and nose and everything was everywhere. But at the surface, she could smell the flowers from the gardens of the palace, and food from the kitchen. It made her sad for the things she would never get to try, and she went home. She tried to ask her father about the humans, but he knew nothing about them.

She had questions, and nobody seemed to have answers for her. When speaking to one of her friends one day, she asked about humans again. "Well, there is one place you could probably go to ask around here," her friend said, "I don't know if I could ever go, but the Sea Witch may know the answers you seek."

Lila thought about this a minute. "Y-you mean Madame Blanche?" she asked pensively.

"You know that is exactly who I mean," her friend replied. "She usually helps with love problems, and some say her magic is fake, but you can never be too sure."

The next morning, Lila was pacing near the entrance to Madame Blanche's dwelling. It was so normal looking, Lila did not know if she was at the right place or if Madame Blanche was a fraud. She was busy pacing and eventually when she turned around she swam right into Madame Blanche. With her dark hair and trinkets tied in her hair and around her tail, and she was even wearing some human clothing that had been scavenged from a ship, she was a fearsome sight for the young mermaid. Lila froze and thought of swimming away.

"You have many questions for me," Madame Blanche stated more accusatory than as a question. "Come in, come in. I have what you need." Lila followed her and was surprised at how clean and nice everything was inside. Madame Blanche caught her staring, "Do not touch. You sit there." Lila settled in. "What can I do for you?"

Lila hesitated before speaking, "How long does a human live? I mean, if they do not drown, are they able to live hundreds of years as we do?"

"No, dear, they do not," Madame Blanche replied, "they live less than one hundred years. But when we die, we become sea foam – as we have no soul. The humans, they have a soul. Their lives are shorter, but when they die, their soul leaves their body and goes on to become a star in the sky." She continued, "When a human dies, they have a grave for friends and family to visit, and people look to the sky and remember them; here we have no such things and when you are gone, there are none to mourn."

"Oh," said Lila softly. "Thank you ever so much, I guess I will be going then."

Lila turned to go. "There is a way," said Madame Blanche, quiet – but serious. Lila paused, and turned back. "There is a way," she went on, "a way to earn a soul. Or at least enough of one to become one with the stars when you die; where you can see every sunrise and sunset, every mountain, every river, every flower… for all eternity." She stopped and studied Lila for a bit, she was leaning in and hanging on every word the woman had to say. "You would have to be loved by a man. More than he loved any other, even his father or mother. All of his dreams would be of you, and his love yours and yours alone, you would earn it. For the humans, when they love, they go to a man, such as me, a priest. And this priest places their hands together and binds their souls for eternity. When that happens, his soul will flow over into you and you would have enough soul to go on to the stars when you died." Lila could see a dark intensity in the woman's eyes.

"That is all?" Lila asked "That sounds ever so easy."

"That, and you would have to give up your tail. You would have to become one of them, you would need legs." Lila looked at the woman. "I can make that happen for you."

"That would be ever so kind of you!" cried Lila. "I –."

"Do not thank me, young one." The witch interrupted. "For I do nothing for free, and this will be very painful for you. I will give you a potion, and you will swim up to shore and take it at sundown. Your gills will fall away and you will never again breathe under water again. You will feel as though you are being cut in two with a hot blade. Your tail will writhe in pain and shrink down into legs. Let no one find you before sunrise, for they will fear the sight of you until then." Lila shrank back, unsure of what to do. "I must say, you will be quite pretty as a human, and you should have no problem getting your prince to fall in love with you. You will be graceful beyond any other, and dance will come easily to you. But beware – every step you take, will feel as though you are running upon sharp knives and broken glass. However, this will only last until you have your soul, and once fully human, you will no longer feel pain from each step."

"That is ever so terrible!" Lila said. She hesitated, but continued, "I will do it. The prince seems ever so nice, and surely he will remember me once he sees me. Then he will marry me and give me a soul."

"Be aware though," the witch went on, "You will never be able to return, never see your father again. And if you do not win the love of this prince- your heart will be broken, the first sunrise after he marries another, and you will turn to sea foam anyway."

"I will do it," Lila said. She would miss her father, but she wanted to see her prince again, wanted him to know she had saved him.

"And for my payment," the witch stated, "I will need your voice. I need to put my blood and my life into each spell I make, and I need the best part of you to make give me the energy to finish it."

"But if you take my voice, how will the prince know me. How can he fall in love with a girl who cannot speak?"

"You will have your grace, your beautiful ability dance – even though you will be in pain – you must use your eyes to express your love to him." The witch was busy putting things into her cauldron as she spoke. She started chanting, and Lila heard her name a few times. Then the witch grabbed a blade and cut off the end of her own tongue and threw it into the cauldron. The potion went from green to silver to purple. Madame Blanche put the potion into a bottle and gave it to Lila. "Remember to get out of the water and sit somewhere safe and to take it at sunset." Lila noticed that the witch's tongue was fine. She went to reply – but no sound came out. "Remember, you cannot speak. Now go." Lila was practically pushed out the door.

The door opened again, and the witch threw a dress at her, the kind that human women wore, and the door closed again. Lila took the dress, swam through the fields at her father's farm once more, placed a large beautiful shell in the garden for him to find, and swam to the shore near the palace. She waited until it was nearing sunset and waited near the back edge of the palace, where some tide pools were that were not watched at night. She hoisted herself up into a pool and put on the dress. Then sat looking at the potion; watching the sunset through the bottle. When just the last rays were shining she opened the bottle and drank it down.


	3. A Storm Brewing Inside

She felt the liquid go down; it was warm on her tongue. She sat and waited, nothing was happening. _Great, this is just ever so wonderful. I cannot speak and that witch gave me a potion that did nothing._ She was very sleepy and she began nodding her head down and then jerking it back up. She did not want to be caught on the beach. She was light-headed and the sky began spinning. _I am going to die here._ She could not breathe anymore. Her body was on fire. Water began running out from her gills and dribbling out of her mouth. _My lungs must be getting ready to breathe out of the water now._ Her gills were stretched wide open, she could feel them burning as they were closing themselves from the inside out. Each layer of skin was burning itself closed. The water was more forceful from her mouth now, causing her to cough and choke. Her eyes burned from trying to get the water out. When her gills were closing at the end of her skin, she held her arms close and cried silently. It was as though her neck and ribs, where her gills had been, were being sewn shut – but instead of a needle there was a great hot iron poker instead.

She sat there for a time, struggling to breathe. She could not understand how humans could breathe this way. She felt a sharp pain and pulled the dress up to see what it was. The air burned her fins. The top layers of skin had peeled away from them, leaving raw flesh exposed. Tears came to her eyes again. Her entire tail was dry and tight; it too was peeling away from her body. Her scales, once a vibrant glossy emerald, were now dull and gray. Each one drying up and crumbling away from her body; this too, left her raw flesh exposed. She could no longer move her tail on its own. She tried to move it with her hands, to get it out of the burning wind. Her tail bounced at her touch. It was swollen to nearly twice its size, and the raw flesh burned.

There was a light. It was faint at first, but pulsing brighter and brighter. Lila looked at her tail, the light coming from within. Her tail lit up a faint dusty rose; she could see something inside, so she leaned in to get a closer look. There was a storm. Much like any storm in the sky, like the storm her first night up, like the storm where she rescued the prince. But this storm was not in the sky. This storm was inside her swollen tail. Flashes of black and purple lighting danced along the inside of her thin pink flesh. She watched intently; every POP and BANG burning, her breath halted, her eyes filled with fear. The lightning inside her became faster, more intense. It consumed her insides and her flesh turned from pink to gray where the lightning was beginning to burn through. The light started strobing, and lit up the whole sky as her tail burst open, spilling warm liquid out all over. The pain was so intense, she let out a silent scream and everything went dark.


	4. Wash Away the Past

Lila could hear people speaking, their voices hollow and distant. Something took hold of her arm and touched her face. Her Prince! She turned her face in his direction. She tried to open her eyes, but they were full of sand and salt and pain from last night and the sun from this morning. Her head felt heavy, more so than it ever had before.

"She's alive!" a voice called out, a voice that was not her prince. She heard a loud horn go off, and her head fell back as two large men picked her up out of the tide pool. The horn blew again. She was being carried up the sandy beach into the gardens she had only gazed at from afar. Lila's heart started racing. Her tail! What if she wasn't done, what if they found out? She ripped her eyes open wide and lifted her head up. Looking around, trying to find an escape almost caused the men to drop her. "Calm down miss, we will have you inside soon."

Lila stiffened with fear, she did not know what they meant by that. A ways into the garden the men stopped and sat her down in a cart, like the ones she had seen at the docks with the fishermen. _Oh my, this is ever so bad._ She started crying, her tears moving the sand in her eyes. She curled up in a ball and reached out to feel for her source of worry. She could not tell if she should stay worried or not, the dress was soaked and weighed her body down, so she stayed worried. She was taken in the cart up to a side door of the palace, and a group of women came out to them. The men who had brought her up and the women at the door began to talk amongst themselves.

"Well, where do you suppose she came from?"

"I do not know milady, but she appears noble."

"That she does, 'tis a shame about that dress though. The ocean will have ruined the silk." The woman speaking turned to Lila, "dear, what is your name? Who were you with before you were found?" Lila just stared back with large sorrowful eyes. She opened her mouth to speak but no sound came from her lips, though a tear streaked down her cheek. "Oh, the poor dear must have had a shock. Thank you, gentlemen, please go about your duties, we will take her from here." She turned to the women behind her, "Ladies, let us get this poor girl inside. I am sure she would love a bath and some dry clothes." Two of the girls came over to Lila and each took a hand, two more fluffed out her sopping skirt as best they could, and together helped her out of the cart. With the skirt held up, Lila was able to tell that she did in fact have legs and she smiled at the fact.

Everything turned red.

The second Lila stood on her feet, she crumpled to the ground. Pain shot up both legs, pain so intense it was as though her brain had melted, blinding her and turning her legs to jelly. She forgot. The witch's words came back to her, "beware – every step you take, will feel as though you are running upon sharp knives and broken glass." The girls cried out and were fanning her face. Lila opened her eyes and let them help her back up.

Lila walked inside the palace with the women; they were all following the main woman who had spoken to her out front with the two who had helped her up walking behind her. As they walked, the woman in front would say things to the girls and then they would walk off in twos in different directions. Eventually, there were just four girls surrounding Lila. The woman stopped in front of a door, opened it and told the two in front to get the bath ready. As she was speaking to them, two more girls who had walked away earlier showed up with a large gilded cart carrying a large brass drum. The last two who had been behind Lila led her into a beautiful room. The entire room, the floors, the walls and ceiling were all made of marble. There were two large windows on one wall, each with a gilded swan on either side. In the center of the room was a large round raised tub. It reminded Lila of a large tide pool; but this was much deeper, and this too was made of marble and had a gilded rim around the top. The girls who had brought in the cart were filling the tub with hot water, while the others were putting in some potions. _Those smell ever so delightful._ _I do hope that they don't do anything to me like last night; I do not think I could go through that again._

Lila did not get a chance to think anything else on the subject, for the last two girls were pulling and pawing at her. They got the wet dress off of her and led her to the tub. Lila though it was like a beautiful dance, all the girls moving to and fro, each knowing the other is doing their part. Once Lila was at the tub, she saw the foam and heard the witch again, "if you do not win the love of this prince- your heart will be broken, the first sunrise after he marries another, and you will turn to sea foam anyway." Lila lowered her body into the tub, the hot water easing the pain in her limbs from her transmogrification the night before. Two of the girls absconded with her gown and the woman brought back a selection of garments and began hanging them in a row on a bar against one wall before leaving again. The four girls remaining washed Lila with more foam. Foam in her hair, foam on her arms and her legs, foam on her back. Lila saw the sea sponges they were using to wash her with, and she shed a tear for them. She was sad for them, but had never felt anything as beautiful as that in all her life. The girl washing her hair made Lila want to melt from joy.

"You really are lucky," one of the girls spoke. "You were smart to take your hoops off in the water. I don't think I'd have managed it, but you lived because of it."

"Tip your head back, please," said another, and as Lila put her head back, the girls poured warm clean water down her hair. "Alright, now up," and the girls helped Lila stand up and they rinsed her entire body off. She was in agony; but kept a polite smile on, even if her eyes were still sad. Lila was helped out of the tub and the girls began toweling her off and dressing her in white garments.

"I don't believe she needs a corset." One said.

"True, she was not wearing one already. Look at her, she is so dainty already, I wouldn't," another girl replied.

The two girls continued to choose suitable items for her, and the other two powdered her body and did her hair. The girl doing her hair seemed to remember how Lila had been wearing it, and put it back into two perfect plaits on either side of her face. One of the girls came back with a beautiful green dress. "I was thinking this day dress for her. It is fancy enough to sit with the family, but not as stuffy as the full ball gown she showed up in," she held the dress up. It was light mint muslin with emerald silk trim and applique. The girls finished dressing her and walked her back to the main room.


	5. A Game in the Garden

Lila sat at a small table by the window. This room also had a floor of marble, but the walls were wood. The wood on the walls had raised frames along it; some filled with paintings, and others had ornate carvings of ships and the ocean right in the wall. She was admiring a carving of the forest, as she had never been to the forest and would truly like to see one up close, when the woman who was in charge came in followed by two girls pushing a cart. "Lunch will be in an hour, but we have some bread from this morning and a nice warm bowl of broth for you. You should eat before you meet the prince. I will come for you in fifteen minutes; these girls are here to help you should you need anything," and with that, the woman left. One of the girls lifted the lid while the other set a bowl in front of Lila, and a plate with bread.

"This is a light broth, milady. You can dip the bread or sip from the bowl." Lila dipped the bread in the bowl and placed it in her mouth. It was if she could see colors for the first time. And hot food! It was glorious. She finished just before the woman came back to the room, and the girls cleaned up as soon as she was done. She was bade to follow the woman, with the two girls behind her; before she knew it she was in the grandest room she had ever seen.

This room too had floors of marble. There were great high walls of carved stone, and large windows all around the room. Each window was framed in gilded relief work, and some were full of the most glorious colorful images Lila had ever seen- the sun shining through them cast a magical shadow in the room. There was a long carpeted walkway from the door to the other end of the room, with groups of people on either end facing away from Lila. The woman led Lila down the carpet; it had beautiful flowers framing scenes of dancing animals.

There was a small line of people in front of Lila, but she could see the prince. He was sitting on a grand throne, on a raised gilded platform. Lila watched each person or group as they were presented to the prince as she didn't want to show him anything but proper respect. When it was her turn to be presented to the prince, the woman stepped forward first to speak on her behalf, "Your Highness, this is the young girl we found washed ashore this morning."

"Ah, yes," the prince replied. "Let her come forward so I may see her." Lila stepped toward the prince and curtsied, as she had seen the ladies before her do. As graceful as she was, the curtsey made Lila want to scream. Her feet were in pain as though sliced by broken glass and blades; but Lila was more graceful in that one moment than any lady the prince had ever seen in his court. The prince studied Lila, "She was wearing finery, you say?"

"Yes your Highness," the woman spoke again as Lila could not speak for herself, "she was wearing a fine silk gown with pearls and beading. She was washed up in the tides this morning; her dress was beautiful, but it was ruined by the sea water."

"Does she not speak for herself?" the prince asked.

"Your Highness, no. I do not believe she can. She tried to speak to us this morning when we found her, poor dear, and no sound came from her lips. She seems to have had a shock. When she tried to speak and she heard no sound, she started crying at the loss of her voice."

"This is something I will consider; for now, she may join in court and attend dinner tonight." The woman nodded her head and gave a curtsey, and Lila gave another curtsey and followed.

Lila was given the two girls as escorts for her stay, and the woman left her. They took Lila to a large hall filled with young men and women. "This is the Courtier's Hall," the first girl said, "this is where you will eat most of your meals; unless they eat in the Grand Hall like they will tonight."

"They are having a great feast to celebrate His Highness returning to us from the sea. He was tossed from his ship during a great storm and was thought dead the next morning. But he was found alive, washed up on shore- just like you were today. And he has full recovered from his ordeal," replied the second.

"The people were mighty happy he was safe, for the prince is loved by all. He is very good to everyone. He will be a great king. Once he marries, that is."

"So tonight is the feast, and all week there will be a celebration in the town. Musicians, games, plays, and other festivities all provided for the people. The prince is going to celebrate with them, they were so happy to have him back and he loves to be with them."

"We won't get to eat with you; we have to eat in the next room. Once you sit, we will leave; you will be served and taken care of by the attendants there. They will let us know when you are done and we will escort you to the gardens from there." Lila walked into another beautiful room filled with several long tables and grand chairs. This room was all stone. There were rows of stone pillars between the tables and large stone carvings over the doorways. There were large paintings in gilded frames on the walls; paintings of people on horses or playing garden games. Above the tables were long gilded trays holding rows of candles lighting the room. The tables were long and dark; with ornately carved chairs that had red velvet tufted cushions.

Lila was brought to a table near another group of girls dressed finely, as she was now; she sat and was poured drink and swiftly brought a bowl of soup. The two that had been escorting her went through a door in the back to eat their own lunches. As she was about the lift the bowl to bring to her lips like earlier, Lila saw another girl using one of the pieces of silver from the table. Lila followed suit and ate in the same way as the other girls. Since she could not speak, she just listened to them talk about the fun they were going to have at the festival. As soon as she was done, the young boy pouring drinks came over and asked if she wanted her escorts, while another took her dishes away; Lila nodded and the boy went into the back and her escorts came right to her. "To the garden then, milady?" and Lila followed.

The garden was just as grand as anything in the palace. Lila's escorts brought her to a balcony before taking her outside, so she could get a view of the whole grounds. "Do you see that over there?" one asked, "That is the maze. Don't worry about getting lost in it though. It only comes up so high," she said, placing her hand near her hip, "and they give you a small flag to carry that you rise if you get stuck. Then someone comes in to fetch you." Lila thought the maze did look fun, but then she thought of her feet and winced. The girl looked at her, "It really is fun, I promise." They turned back and kept on their way to the garden.

The three girls walked about the path for a time, and came upon a small opening in the wall of greenery. Lila followed the girls through it, and there was a small table made of marble, all inlaid with different colors in a pattern and two rows of fancy carved stone pieces on either end. There were a few chairs around the table, and a small table for a beverage glass or book near each. The room- for though it was outside, Lila felt this was very much a room- was made of plants. There were walls and a ceiling, each made many years ago of branches woven together, right from the ground. Vines grew up each side and a canopy of flowers hung down from above.

A loud bell rang, like a small ship's bell, and Lila looked over and saw one of the girls pulling on a chain along the back. Lila would not have noticed it if not for her ringing it. The girls told Lila she could sit, for which Lila was very grateful. Another kitchen boy showed up a few minutes later and the girls asked for drinks. "Have you played chess, milady?" Lila shook her head. "It is supposed to be a 'thinking man's' game, but I have seen it played and could teach you. I think that since you cannot speak right now that it would be something you could do, if you like." Lila nodded and smiled. The girls made sure the pieces were set up in the proper places, and before they could start telling the rules, the kitchen boy came back with a tray of glasses and a pitcher for them. He poured their glasses, leaving the pitcher should they desire more. Lila took a sip; it was cool, it was tart, it was sweet. Lila had never had anything so good before. One girl was sitting across Lila, the other next to her- to help should she need it.


	6. A Feast for the Eyes

The girls spent the next few hours teaching Lila the game, and eventually the air started cooling. The girls set the pieces back in their proper places and rang the bell once more for someone to get their glasses and the pitcher. Lila was brought back to the first room where she had eaten earlier, and the girls dressed her in a gown more like the first one she had worn. This one was a long slim rough woven silk shift, the lightest green there ever was. The neck had rows of embroidery all around, in the shape of vines with small birds sitting in the leaves. The embroidery came down her shoulders and along her arms, and wrapped around her wrists. There was an overdress, emerald colored- like the prince's eyes- that just went over her shoulders, and was open at her sides down to her hips. The front and back of the dress was slim, so you could see the underdress, and flared wide at the bottom. There were wide bands of colored silk around the bottom, matching the colors of the birds each with a row of vines embroidered along them. Her braids were pulled up and looped under, and a light green silk scarf placed upon her head with a band of braided emerald silk wrapped around to hold it in place; a long gold chain was placed around her neck, with a jeweled bird hanging just at the center of her ribs.

The girls walked with Lila to the Grand Hall. The Grand Hall looked just like the room where she had met the prince sitting on his throne that morning. Only instead of a long carpet leading you to the throne, there were three long rows of tables around the perimeter of the room, starting on either side of the door, each one raised slightly from the one before it. The front center of the room had only two rows; except for the very center, which was a single table raised higher than any of the others, and had a huge chair carved to look like a bear, except hollowed out and lined with plush green velvet. The center of the room was a large open area. The ceiling had large gilded chains hanging from them, each holding a gilded tree; each leaf a diamond crystal, the light from the candles they contained reflected throughout the room.

Lila was brought over to where the other Ladies from the court were being seated. The young Lords of the court were seated opposite, as not every one of the girls could catch the attention of the prince, though they were there to catch the attention of a proper man to marry. Eventually the room filled up, save for a few seats; there was a loud trumpeting and the prince was announced. Everyone stood from their seat, the prince walked in and sat in his big bear chair; Lila thought it looked as though the bear had eaten the prince.

Kitchen boys came out and began filling glasses, Lila made note that you could tell someone's station by the number of servers in each area. The prince had a drink server all to himself. A priest stood and blessed the prince, "Not every man who is set to rule is fit to rule. Not every ruler is kind and cares for his people. Sometimes the Heavens are not fair. Sometimes they take a just and fair ruler from us. A lesson to be learned, for sure. Our kind prince, he is beloved by his people. But the Heavens, they cast their net that night, and brought up the lives of many. We thought our prince was one of those lost the night of that storm; the Heavens saw fit to return him to us. That was nearly four months ago. Our prince is now recovered full, and of age to be married and crowned. With that, let us have a blessed feast tonight and festival this week to celebrate our prince." After the blessing a woman in a big dress that stood way out from her body came to stand in the middle of the room and began singing.

Various dishes began to come out, each presented to the prince first. Once the prince was served, then others would too. Lila had never seen so much food in her life. Rabbit cooked in red wine and juniper berries with blood sauce, a pottage* of veal with pears and cinnamon, a quail broiled in honey stuffed with bread and plums, there was a whole stag brought out- it had been cut and cooked, then put back together- presented to the prince and sliced into, a leg of veal stuffed with hard cooked duck eggs which was sliced for presentation, a baked apple stuffed with pork sausage, stuffed heron, stewed plums, a jelly in the shape of the prince's crest, fruits, pastry, and cheese.** Lila could barely manage more than a few bites of each item with how much there was.

When Lila was full she sat and watched the entertainment with the others. After the singer had been an acrobat, and after that a puppet show in a round stage of sorts. Then the dancers came. The first dancer was tall and beautiful; her clothes tight to her body with a grand skirt standing away from her all around her hips. She danced a slow graceful dance alone, and another with a man who was dressed to look like the prince. The pair danced as they told the story of the prince getting washed overboard.

First the two were dancing and enjoying lively music, and the music changed and the two ran about the room as if taking cover. The music became more intense and the girl grabbed a painted silk scarf from a small basket- it was painted with one of the flashes of light that had attacked the ship- and she began leaping and twirling after the 'prince' until she caught up with him and he fell to the ground. She discarded that silk for another painted with the ocean on it. The 'prince' was still on the ground, and the girl would take her water scarf trailing behind her and leap over him, running in from many directions. She went close to him and twirled the silk around him and he rose within. She draped the silk over his shoulder and the two danced as one; he held her for high jumps and twirled her around himself. They each took an end of the silk and danced about the room, rolling themselves in and out of the scarf; together, then away. The music slow and sweet. Their movements became slower and he dropped the scarf. She exchanged that one for another silk, this one was stretched on a hoop and painted as the sun. The 'prince' stood, in mock sleep, while the music became more triumphant; she leapt about around him, tossing the sun up into the air and catching it again waking him from his water induced slumber. The music ended with the 'prince' raising his arms at his side with the sun held right behind his head.

Lila watched the dancers, telling her story. "You will be graceful beyond any other, and dance will come easily to you," she heard the witch again.

The dancers were followed by a choir of children, and a soloist. The girl looked to be the same age as Lila, and was very beautiful. Her voice was most beautiful of all though. She sang a beautiful song of love and heartache. _If the prince only knew that I had traded my voice away forever to be with him. It is ever so unfair I cannot tell him that I was the one who saved him._ Then two chairs were brought out for a pair of ladies with tall string instruments. Their tune was low and sweet. Lila thought of the witch again. _She said dance would come ever so easily to me._

Lila stood and stepped into the center of the room. Her steps were so tender and graceful that the musicians did not even notice her walk between them. She swayed a moment and began to dance. She danced fast, and then slow; gaily at first, then the sorrow reached her eyes. _I can never go home again; I do hope the prince will notice me._ Her sadness pierced every person in the room watching her. She was more graceful than any dancer that had performed that night and she touched the heart of all met her gaze. The song ended, and the two musicians looked at each other and played another song, so that Lila may dance again. Each step was terrible, and Lila was in agony; which only added to the macabre beauty of her dance.

The night ended when the bells rang outside signaling the time. Guests were filing down the main hall in one direction to meet with their carriages, and the courtiers staying in the palace headed to their rooms. Lila was met in the hall by her two escorts. They took her back to her room again. Once there, they helped Lila change into bed clothes and opened a wall panel into another room. "This is where we will be sleeping, should you need us." She opened another wall panel into a huge room, "This will be your room. We already set a fire for the evening. Would you like the curtains open tonight?" Lila shook her head. The girl pulled back the blankets getting the bed ready then pulled on a rope hanging along the back of the bed. "This will ring in our room to let us know if you need anything, goodnight." Lila was left alone in the soft glow of the fire. She climbed into the bed and pulled the blankets up over herself. _I surely must get a soul. For if living among the stars eternally is anything like this, I should never want for anything more._ Lila dozed off, warm and happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Pottage is stew, fancy pottage is actually called frumenty- which is a word most people don't know, and sounds gross- but is a thick stew made of wheat and cream and meat*** with sugar and fruit and nuts.
> 
> **I based this menu off of real medieval menus, some of these foods I have eaten before and are quite tasty.
> 
> ***Because they are 1- wealthy and 2- next to the ocean, this meat would most likely have been porpoise [historically] but nobody wants Arnold eating a dolphin I am quite certain. Hence- my use of veal.
> 
> The more you know :D


	7. Festival of Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I have had a few of you ask this in reviews/PM: Why doesn't the mermaid just write what she wants to say?  
> [The answer to this got kinda long and technical, so it will be at the bottom]

The next morning Lila woke to urgent knocking followed by two very excited girls running about her bed. "Milady! It is so exciting, you must get up!" The girl was excited, but not angry. However, Lila never wanted to leave the bed. "The prince asked to spend the whole day with you at the festival, you must get up!" Lila shot straight up out of bed. They dressed her in a cream shift topped with a long tunic with tight medium length sleeves that was open on the sides and laced up closed. The tunic was a deep dark green and has light green and soft yellow roses embroidered all around the edge.

The girls brought Lila to the main room of her suite and sat her down to do her hair while she was eating. The tray had already been set while she was dressing; a soft boiled duck egg with some warm bread and half a baked apple stuffed with pork sausage from the night before, some berries, and a warm cup of tea greeted her under the shiny dome. While Lila was eating, the girls brushed and pulled at her hair, braiding it round her head. Lastly one pinned in a dark green head cap with a cream drape hanging from it in the center of her braid to cover her from the sun while the other brought out a pair of green dyed leather slippers lined in ermine.

Lila walked through the festival with the prince in a tidy row: two guards, the prince and Lila, her escorts, followed by two more guards. The prince hardly had a moment to speak directly with Lila; nearly every booth, stall, or business wanted the prince to have a pastry or pie, a bowl of stew, a smoked sausage. Every singer sang for him, every performer wanted him to come in and watch. Lila could tell the prince was beloved by all his people and that he was very polite and tried every dish offered and watched and listened to every performance. Lila was able to try everything too, as she was accompanying the prince; she was having so much fun, she nearly forgot the ever present pain in her feet.

When they returned to the palace, Lila looked sadly at the water and her escorts asked if she would like to go down to the water. They walked Lila to a small secret cove; one Lila had not been able to see from outside. It was surrounded by high cliffs and a section of the beach had marble stairs from the lawn to the calm lapping water. The girls sat on a small bench under a tree while Lila stepped down to the water and slipped off her shoes. The cool salt water soothed her feet. The night came and Lila went to bed.

Each day was the same; Lila going about the festival with the prince. Tasting every food, looking at trinkets for sale, and watching performances with the prince made her very glad. But each night she went town to the sea for as long as she could stay and let the water soothe her pain. The last night of the festival, there was a public dance in the square. The prince had Lila accompany him to the dance, just as he had for all the other festival activities. Lila wore her dress from the feast to the dance, and though he danced with many girls from the village during the night, his first and last dance were with her.

The prince had a special riding outfit made for her, and each week she went out with him on a ride in the forest. Lila liked going on rides with the prince, for they took the pain away from her weary feet. He spent a good portion of each day with her, and each day she loved him more than the day before. The prince however, had not yet put it into his mind to have her as his bride.

Lila mourned each night at the beach. She missed her friends; she missed her father. She could never again speak or sing, and the prince was still no closer to taking her as his wife and giving her a soul. One night at the water, she looked down and saw her friend below the surface. "When your father said you had left home, I knew that you had seen the witch and you were here. I have been up each night trying to find you." Lila opened her mouth to reply to her friend, so she could see Lila could not speak. Her friend took pity on her, "I will go now, but I will return. I will tell your father you miss him greatly." So each night, Lila returned to the same spot on the marble steps where she soothed her feet, sometimes seeing a few friends or finding a small gift they had left for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I have had a few of you ask this in reviews/PM: Why doesn't the mermaid just write what she wants to say?
> 
> Despite Disney showing Ariel writing, there is no way they would have writing other than full on carving underwater. Books that sank with ships would probably get ruined through usage, and probably don't hold much value for most mermaids anyway, as they could never practice writing. This is why Lila's goodbye note to her father was a large fancy shell for him to find and know was from her. The story wouldn't work at all if they didn't speak/understand the same language though, so you can assume that they probably interacted more at one point in time and the mermaids may have lived a lot closer to the surface; speaking the language of the villages near them. Something happens, probably the fishing industry or lifespan jealousy or something about magic or religion pushed them away from each other. They still speak the language, because they always have. Even if it was not their first language, going along the standard 'three generations' to breed out a language [where the language is generally only spoken at home] and the mermaids live 300+ years then a generation [from your birth to the birth of your first child] could easily be 100 years. In a place where it is also spoken outside the home, it could be longer [Spanish has a 40% speaking rate for 3rd gen] so it could be anywhere from 300-500 [or more] years easily that have passed since they stopped interacting with people on land, but still use the language. Especially if they based their government/schools/farming/whatnot off of the human world, and used their words for things, and have houses full of human objects they would otherwise have no words for. So Lila could easily speak/understand the language, but she cannot write.


	8. Kingdom Come

Every day the prince grew fonder of Lila. Her sad eyes begged him to love her. "You are such a sweet and kind girl," the prince told her one day. They were on one of their horseback outings and had stopped for a light lunch. He sat Lila down, their escorts watching but out of earshot. "Let me tell you of a girl I love but will never meet again." Lila just looked up at him with her begging eyes. "The night the sky saw fit to attack my ship and the sea carried me back to shore, I was delivered to the shore near a small temple. There was a girl staying at the temple, and she found me there on the sand in the morning. She saved my life, and helped nurse me back to health the first few weeks; but soon after the temple sent her elsewhere."

_It is unfortunate that he doesn't know that it was me who saved him; that I saw him fall into the sea and that I carried him to shore and sat with him all the night. I saw the maiden that he speaks of. I saw the girls find him that morning. He thinks she saved him! I am ever so lucky he will not be seeing this girl again. It would be a pity to have given up my life for him if she had stayed by his side._

"My dear dumb* girl, the only girl I could love has gone away. But you remind me of her in your kindness and sorrow." The prince continued, "It has become time for me to marry. I am being sent to see a maiden from another village. A grand wedding ship has already been built. I must travel and see the village there anyway, but none can make me marry this girl. I cannot love her. She can be nothing like the girl who saved me. If I am to be forced to marry, I would rather marry you." Lila smiled and blushed at the prince; he placed a small kiss on her delicate fingers then ran his fingers over the texture of her braid.

Weeks passed and Lila became closer and closer with the prince and he told her many personal things about himself. He taught her of the world; of forests and deserts, of different kingdoms, and animals. But then he taught her of the sea. _I wonder, if he knows ever so little of the sea, does that mean that he knows so little of the forests and deserts and animals too?_ And the boats were prepared for the trip while the prince and Lila had their things packed for them.

The trip there took many days, but there was not much walking to do on the ship, for which Lila was glad. Her friends followed her along and watched her by night. All the while, the prince spoke to Lila of how he did not want to marry this girl, while his resolve to marry her grew.

When the ship made harbor early in the morning, Lila had to acknowledge that this kingdom was even more glorious than the one where the prince ruled. The castle was perched high on a hill, and the entire kingdom was high up on cliffs topped with high guarded walls lined with colorful flags and banners. The harbor was entered by a series of large gates through a channel between the cliffs and opened to a large protected bay and docks full of grand ships. They were greeted by forty uniformed trumpeters, each shiny horn finished by a small banner bearing the coat of arms of the prince to greet him.

The prince and his small private group were loaded into large gilded open top carriages, which were lined with mother of pearl instead of wood like Lila had expected. They were escorted by forty soldiers marching with polished swords raised in front of their faces. The trumpeters led the group from the harbor to the castle where the prince and his massive party would be staying. Lila had heard there were near one hundred that had come with the prince and once you counted everyone with their escorts, the kitchen staff and maids that had come on the ship with them, and all the sailors it was even more. The church bells all rang their welcome as they passed and people lined the streets to see the visiting prince.

Much like Lila's first week ashore, there was a week of festivities, only there was a ball each night. The entire week of the festival and nightly balls wore Lila out and left her escorts tending to her bleeding feet at the end of each night. However, the maiden that the prince was to meet had still not showed herself. Lila was not overly worried, as she knew the prince did not want to marry the maiden, but she did want to see if she was prettier than she was.

Lila and the prince were told that she had spent the last several years being raised up under the royal church in order to be well trained in all royal virtues and knowledgeable in all areas. She should have arrived home the day the prince did, but had been held up for there were storms where she had last been. After three days of resting at the palace, for which Lila was very grateful, the maiden appeared. Lila and the prince were in a nook in the library near a small fireplace enjoying a game of chess when Lila felt a presence behind her.

Lila turned to see if they had been brought more of the lemonade which Lila was quite fond of. Instead there was a mound of soft yellow curls near her face. The girl raised herself and looked at the pair with deep, blue eyes. _She is quite lovely, but I am ever so much more than she, the prince has already said he would marry me. All he has to do is tell this poor gir-_

"Helga?" The prince nearly choked on the name.

"Arnold," the maiden seemed familiar with the prince, "you remembered me?" Lila saw a small tear of joy glaze over the maiden's blue eyes.

"Your eyes are like two diamonds, shining brightly amidst a sky of pale blue heaven. **" Arnold stood up and bumped the table, knocking over their game pieces. He walked right past Lila, paying her no mind. He reached out and pulled Helga in to himself and held her tight. "It was you; you saved me and nursed me back to health. I could not be happier than I am now to have found you again. All my hopes and dreams I now know can be accomplished because you are here with me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Definition of DUMB
> 
> 1A- lacking the human power of speech dumb animals  
> 1B- of a person often offensive : lacking the ability to speak
> 
> 2- temporarily unable to speak (as from shock or astonishment) struck dumb with fear
> 
> 3- not expressed in uttered words
> 
> **Please watch the episode "Married"


	9. Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Lila stood and turned to the couple, and Arnold grabbed Lila and hugged her tight. He kissed her on the cheek; Lila saw a tear fall down his cheek. "My happiest dreams are coming true. Thank you for staying by my side. I know you are a wonderful and devoted friend, and I want to keep you near always. This is her," he said gesturing to Helga, "she saved my life and I love her more than any other thing that has ever been on this earth." Lila kissed his hand and felt her heart begin to break.

The castle sent out the news, and all the church bells rang in the town for most of the evening while the trumpeters went about the kingdom heralding so all would know. There was a small feast that night, with the wedding to happen in just two days time as most of the preparations had already been made. Lila spent most of her time down by the water, crying with her friends at the docks. They listened to the gossip of the fishermen and left to see how they could help.

When the wedding came, the procession went all through the streets so all could see the groom and the bride, with the ceremony happening up high on the deck of the ship where the people could see the couple. Lila rode in the carriage with the bride's attendants. She cried when they took hands and exchanged vows, but so did many others, for the ceremony was very lovely and the priest spoke of how Helga had saved the life of Arnold and cared for him. After the ceremony was over, the couple kissed and waved goodbye to the people and the ship set out for home so Arnold and Helga could be crowned in his kingdom.

All Lila could think of was how tonight was her last, and that death would greet her in the morning. There was much joy and dancing late through the night, with perfumed oil burning in lamps, and great fireworks set off throughout the night from one of the ships in their convoy. The couple retired to their room for the evening to consummate their union, and the rest stayed up drinking and dancing, for the sea was calm and the sailing smooth. Lila danced more elegantly that night than she ever had before, and thought of how she had seen a scene much like this her first night to the surface. However, tonight would also end in sorrow for Lila would turn to foam and never get to see the sunrise again. Each step cut her feet like knives, but she did not care for she had a much larger cut working through her heart.

When her feet could take no more, Lila sat in a velvet couch that was set out for the evening and looked out onto the water. She saw one of her friends and went below deck to get closer. Two of her friends were there; one with her hair shorn, the other with her eyes all silvered. The same way Lila had given up her voice- and now her life- for the prince, her friends had given up the best of themselves for her. A way for her to turn back to a mermaid and not into foam. She had to kill the prince. They produced a knife and gave it to Lila. It looked like nothing more than a large misshapen oyster upon first glance, but was actually quite sharp with a mother of pearl blade edge and the handle end was inlaid with pearls. Lila took the knife from her friends and went up on deck. The sky was beginning to lighten, as morning was approaching.

She walked into the room where the couple lay sleeping in each other's arms. She knew this was the last night she would ever see her prince. He would never know what she gave up to be with him. The pain she endured, not just every day, but when she turned into a human too. She would never sing again, nor dance after this morning. She would never see the stars, and could never obtain her soul and live forever among them. She had no soul, and now that the prince was married she could never win one either. She could not even marry another in the time she had left.

She watched them sleep, their faces so close, Arnold leaned closer a moment and kissed his bride. "Helga," he whispered, and snuggled in closer to her. Lila looked on the bedside table near Helga and saw a locket. She opened it and there was a small painting of Arnold in it. She put the locket back. Lila looked at the prince and his bride, and at the knife in her hand. He could never have been hers anyway. Even if he had married her, he had loved Helga, and would not have given Lila any of his soul to help her. She stabbed the knife down into the bedside table near the locket and walked out onto the deck.

She found a spot without prying eyes and waited for the warm rays to reach around the sea and touch her face, then she dove off the ship and the only sound was of her empty dress falling into the water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading!


End file.
